Though Treviso is recognized as the birthplace of tiramis&ugrave, the precise origins of this phenomenally popular dessert are shrouded in mystery. Imagine my excitement, then, when my friend Celeste Tonon, proprietor of Ristorante da Celeste, passed on to me the original procedures for making this luscious assemblage of ladyfingers (savoiardi) and Mascarpone cream, which Celeste learned from his mentor Speranza Garatti, the true mother of tiramisù, he claims. Her creation was made and served in individual portions, in a goblet or coppa, which I suspect gave rise to its name, which means "pick me up" in the Venetian dialect.

One of the delights of making tiramisù is its versatility. This recipe makes a family-style dessert in a large dish, but you can easily compose single servings in dessert glasses, wine goblets, or even elegant teacups for a more impressive presentation, in the style of Signora Garatti's original "coppa imperiale." And while the conventional version of tiramisù calls for espresso-soaked savoiardi, I've found that other flavors can be incorporated into the dessert with great success. Here, the brightness of fresh lemons and limoncello liqueur lace the cream and soaking syrup to make for a tiramisù that is refreshing and irresistible.

Leave a Review

Reviews

users rating4/4

Made this recipe for a warm New Year's Eve at friends. Was fantastic-had just enough syrup but I boiled mine for a bit longer to get rid of the strong alcohol taste. My custard didn't expand in volume(never made custard before) but still tasted great and texture was fine.Added 150ml of cream that I whipped up with some lemon zest and icing sugar to fill in the top layer.

I found this recipe made far too much lemon syrup, which I found disappointing because I wasted most of the lemon juice. Next time I will leave out the water whilst making the syrup..be a better taste and quantity I think.

Sorry Lidia, but I really didn't
like this. Totally one note with
nothing to cut the excessive lemon
flavor. The lady fingers got wet
and soggy as they absorbed liquid
from the cream filling. Also a very
expensive recipe to make with the
lemoncello ($18) for the cheapest
bottle, marscapone and lady
fingers. I wouldn't make this
again.

This was really delicious and my first time making this dessert. I made it for Easter, so
I bought extra mascarpone and had extra eggs on hand in case I encountered some of the other reviewers problems. The zabaglione went perfectly. Be careful because the instant it is ready you need to get it off the heat or it will curdle. You can strain it, but it isn't nearly as good, better to start over. I beat the mascarpone with a spatula and it went grainy in a very short time. So I started over with the extra mascarpone I had on hand this time mixing it gently to smooth then adding the zest. After this everything incorporated beautifully and the dessert went together beautifully. I make candied lemon peel for the topping, and it was really good, but the dessert did not need it. This is a really good dessert. I rank it up there with the Tropical Carrot Cake

Made this one for a second time with a few changes based on previous experience and other reviews! Definitely only need half of the syrup and this time I put 1/2 cup of lemoncello into the zabablione/mascarpone mixture just before folding in the beaten egg whites. I wanted a more elegant presentation, so lined the sides and bottom of trifle dish with the lady fingers and soaked them with syrup using a plastic squeeze bottle. Next added a layer of the cream topped with more ladyfingers etc. Just before serving I topped with some coarsely grated lemon zest (coarse microplane) and blackberries and raspberries. Beautiful to the eyes and mouth!!!